Our science curriculum starts with seasons. I don't think I could've been luckier. I love teaching seasons because kids have so many questions about the earth when it comes to seasons.
We've been doing models and dances to explore the motion of the earth around the sun. I have the North Star on one of the classroom walls. We all stand up by our chair and grab our hands over our heads to make our axis. Then we tilt toward Polaris. Next we start to rotate. And finally we keep all of that going revolve around our sun (the chairs). I had one adorable boy continue to tilt his "axis" toward Polaris even when we left the classroom for bathroom and recess. I'll have to get a pic or video of our dance.
Today I used a website today to further illustrate the importance of the earth's tilt, the angle of the sun and how they relate to temperature and hours of daylight. (Go here for the goods.) My kids LOVED it. They were asking so many questions.
"So what would happen if we didn't rotate?"
"So what would happen if our axis was titled this way?"
"So what would happen if we revolved backwards?"
It was an exciting day for seasons to say the least. Afterwards, kids began to answer "What effect does a tilted axis have on our seasons? in table groups. Brilliant answers at the end of the day make my heart warm and fuzzy. One kid wrote that if we had a straight axis then we would have the same season all year round. Another kid explained that when we the earth's tilt is pointing toward the sun then we have summer because the angle of the sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere is closer to 90 degrees. What brilliant children!
I've been needing a day like this.
Also, my principal made two shout-outs to me this week. One for tutoring without regard for pay (I tutor 2 days a week after school) and another for being the only employee, who attended a specific workshop, that shared some of the resources with my principal.
On to other news, yesterday I got a new student who only speaks Spanish. Only. I'm used to EL students...but the emphasis is learner. This poor girl doesn't understand anything I say. So I paired her up with a bilingual student who is repeating the 5th grade. I'm confident both of them will benefit from the experience. My new girl will have a translation and my bilingual girl will be responsible for reteaching the material. It's a win-win for everyone.
Let's see...what else? Oh, if you'd like to support my classroom, we are in need of personal white boards for quick formative assessments. You can donate towards this project at donorschoose.org/ostroski make sure to enter the match code PUMPKIN to instantly double your donation at no extra cost to you! Don't hold off too long though, the match code is only valid until October 15th.
Blessings to you all. <3 AmyO
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